Tripura government flayed over fake certificate

Agartala: The Opposition on Saturday denounced Tripura`s Left Front government after an official probe found that a ruling party legislator had falsely claimed he was a Dalit.

West Tripura District Magistrate and Collector Brijesh Pandey said in a confidential report to the government that Revolutionary Socialist Party`s (RSP) Partha Das did not belong to the Scheduled Caste community.

RSP is a partner of the Left Front. The issue rocked the Budget session of the Tripura Assembly.

Das was elected in 2008 from south Tripura`s Shalgarah Assembly constituency, reserved for the Scheduled Caste.

Scheduled Caste Welfare Minister Jitendra Chowdhury said: "The matter is under judicial scrutiny of the Guwahati High Court as the legislator has challenged the show-cause notice of the sub-divisional magistrate of Sadar sub-division and sought court`s intervention."

The Tripura district magistrate report, leaked to the media, said the Scheduled Caste certificate of Partha Das` elder brother Chandan Kumar Das, a government doctor, had been cancelled earlier.